Unique Nativities to set the scene this Christmas

This story previously ran on LDS Living in June 2017 but has been updated to include new information.

I was doing my usual post-workday Instagram scroll the other night when my thumb stopped dead in its tracks. An account I follow (@comefollowmedaily) had started a discussion on something called “gospel karaoke.” People were suggesting modern-day hymns they’d like to see scriptural characters sing. This brought the scriptures to life for me in a new, moving way, and I’ve come up with a few scenarios of my own. This made for a great personal study and could also be used for an activity during family home evening.

As I watch the fledgling faith of my children grow, it is hard to teach the parallel truths that miracles and signs and wonders are real, that we should pray in faith for the desires of our hearts, and that sometimes (most times?) we may not get what we asked for.

“If a patient comes into your office saying they are having the worst headache of their life, you send them to the hospital!” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that from my professors in chiropractic school, I probably could have graduated debt free.

We’ve all heard stories of people claiming to have received messages from God through their dreams. Is that really possible? Does the Lord communicate with us through dreams, and if so, how does it work? On this week’s episode of All In, Ken Alford, co-author of Dreams as Revelation, dives into what we know about these nighttime revelations.

Remember near the end of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, where Frodo and Sam, covered in sweat and dirt, are climbing to the top of the volcano in Mordor? Sam asks Frodo, “Do you remember the taste of strawberries?” Frodo responds, “No, Sam. I can’t recall the taste of food.”1

A recent article by Lottie Peterson Johnson from the Deseret News highlights a delightful detail in Stranger Things 3 that most viewers probably missed the first time around—one that is particularly meaningful for BYU fans.

For daily gospel-based relationship insights, join Jonathan’s Facebook group. To submit a question click here or schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation here.

We recently sat down as a family to talk about how we want to honor the Lord’s day. We began the conversation by talking about Christmas. It is one of our favorite holidays. We begin preparing for it months in advance. We talked about the food that we love to eat, the traditions we participate in, and the reasons why we look forward to the gathering. We made a list of our traditions: new pajamas, ebelskivers for breakfast, fun games, and quiet moments gathered around burning candles when we remember the times we have seen the hand of the Lord in our lives. Those are just a few. It became clear that the reason we love Christmas isn’t because it is December 25; it is because we have set apart that day as a celebration focused on Christ with good food, fun, and time spent talking about what is important. Then I asked if we might be able to set apart the Sabbath as a holy celebration similar to Christmas. If the day were filled with family, good food, and fun and conversations centered on Christ, would it become a day we looked forward to, similar to the way we look forward to December 25? We decided to give it a try. We started establishing traditions that would intentionally set that day apart from every other day of the week. I call these our sweet Sabbath moments. In our home it is a family-only day. We spend time together playing games or making cookies. Grace loves to make and decorate sugar cookies; I like to make meringues. We trade off. For one hour each Sunday we gather in the family room with a journal and spend time talking about what matters most. This is a time for reading the scriptures, studying doctrines and principles, goal setting and family planning—a weekly time to center our life again, with God’s purposes in mind. The evenings are for large family gathering. Married kids, aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandma and grandpa usually gather to eat dinner and share stories and laugh. With deliberate planning, Sundays have become my most favorite day of the week.